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Wednesday, 28 June 2017

Welcome to 'Where When How Wednesday'. In these weekly posts I'll be interviewing creatives about their journey into the creative world, their works, and what makes them tick. This week I'm interviewing Leicester based photographer, James AKA JMHPhoto.

Hi James, thank you for taking the time to answer a few questions for me. How was it you came to be in the photography world?

'Not at all and you’re very welcome! I’ve always had a creative streak, one which wasn’t appreciated by the education system. I got kicked off my art course when I was 15 because I kept drawing Orcs and Elves when they wanted me to draw flowers. Same went for my photography, it just didn’t conform to what they wanted. As a result I shelved being creative because ironically my experience with education taught me that I was just plain “wrong”. Fast forward a number of years and I was working on a website where the content centred on entertainment, and that meant there was a need for gig photographs. We had a photographer lined up, but they couldn’t make it so I was thrown into last minute. Bit of a shock to the system, first three songs, no flash, and an old Sony Bridge camera. Luckily the stage lights were quite bright so I managed to get some decent shots, and that’s when I was bitten by the creative bug a second time round.'

Of the gigs you've shot, which would you say was your favourite?

'Good grief, that's an evil question! A couple spring to mind, first one would be Alter Bridge at Rock City in Nottingham on their ABIII tour. I'd interviewed the band a couple of times (which is why you'll see the signed Ibanez on my portfolio in various shots) and not only are they all incredible musicians, but they are such a nice group of genuine decent people too. The Saturdays were good, and had one heck of a stage show (again Nottingham), and another gig that blew my socks off that I loved shooting was WASP at Rock City.'

Before we take a slight detour, this is mainly a photography blog so I best ask...what do you shoot with?

'Aha, this is where a couple of photographers have laughed, but a Nikon D90 believe it or not, a nifty fifty lens and the AF-S Nikkor 18-105mm. Outside of that a Bowens Gemini 400Rx, a nice softbox and a triflector. That’s it!'

As we've discussed in the past, and as evident by some images in your portfolio, you're a fan of, amongst other things, Star Wars. Of all the films within the universe, which is your favourite and why?

'Empire Strikes Back, no hesitation. The only film I saw before that at the cinema was Lord of the Rings (the animated one), so Empire was the second film I had ever seen, and I hadn’t even seen Star Wars beforehand either. At that time Star Trek: The Original Series was on TV, and Buck Rogers (ah Erin Gray), so when I saw a squadron of Tie Fighters blasting around the screen it just blew my mind, and the AT-AT’s, it was just so refreshing, new, creative and the whole good versus evil I totally bought in to.'

Obviously, as you share it online, your photographic talent isn't hidden. Do you have any hidden talents?

'Hidden in so far as only my friends know, but I guess that’s about to be blown out of the water. I write. I’m four chapters into my epic saga, shared those with some fellow writers and they were surprised that they enjoyed it, and were desperate for me to write more. In fact they keep bloody nagging me! I play guitar, I draw, and have trained in four different martial arts.'

Speaking of talents...somewhat loose segway, mind you, most of mine are...what did you want to be when you were a kid?

'Remember Airwolf and a computer game called AH64 Apache? I wanted to fly for the army air corps, passed most of their tests, was told I was a natural when it came to flight controls, but then found out I was short sighted. In those days you weren’t allowed to wear glasses for military pilots, and you weren’t accepted even if you had had laser corrective surgery.'

I loved Airwolf. A few years back I started building a remote control model version, then finances fizzled and I had to sell it... I know it's not quite what you wanted to do but, have you managed to do any recreational flying since?

'I've been a passenger in a few helicopter excursions, and did look at a training course, but bloody hell, it's a bit more expensive then driving lessons ha! Marriage, mortgages and kids tend to limit finances, and of course I'd love to fly, but the reality is, I wouldn't swap the world for my wife and kid. If however I found myself better off, then I'd certainly be looking into it again.'

Let's move back to photography... If you could shoot anyone, living or dead, famous or 'normal', who would you shoot and why?

'Oh god what a question, so many people, a huge list, David Bowie, Amanda Tapping, Michael Shanks, infact, anyone in a Sci-Fi series! But if I really had to narrow it down, I would say either Audie Murphy or James Stewart. The two of them just seemed to be genuinely decent people, both saw active service (in fact, Audie Murphy I think is one of the most highly decorated soldiers of WWII), and I watch their films religiously whenever they are on. I admire them as good people, and guess that they’re role models for me.'

Your fantasy and film related stuff...which I'm a fan of by the way...how do you go about creating it?

'Magic Elves. Tough question, it really depends. Some shots I’ve meticulously planned, setting the lights up to be the same way as an intended background image. Some images I’ve done a studio shoot with a model, and then when I’ve come to process them I’ve had a “HOLD IT RIGHT THERE” moment followed by a “I wonder if....”. Sometimes what I’ve got planned will dictate the colour of the background (black, white or green), and other times it’s the other way around. And then Photoshop happens. Actually Photoshop always happens. I shoot in a very tight space, so ye olde “canvas size” with a 200% increase tends to happen as a matter of course!'

'Pardon the swearing, but verbatim, I was told this “If you aren’t fucking something up then you aren’t pushing yourself hard enough and you’re not progressing your skills”. I can confirm there are plenty of screw ups, so I must be advancing my skills at a dizzying rate of knots!'

What's the biggest, or most ridiculous fuck up you've made...that you can admit to?

'Photography or personally? Ok, world exclusive on a mix of the two, with names omitted or changed to protect the innocent. I was given a gig shoot in Sheffield for the main act, and an interview with the first support band. At that time, they were just starting out, but now they get airplay on Radio 1 and such like, but again, having interviewed them once before, thought they were a bunch of really nice people. As it turns out, at this gig, there were two support acts, both hailing from up north, with the same accents, and one guy from the second act looked a bit like one of the guys from the first support act (you can see where this is going can't you). Security at Sheffield didn't seem to know what was going on, and I spotted "Barry" and yelled across to him asking how he was doing. He answered "good to see you mate, are you here to see us?", and I replied that yes, and the interview was scheduled at 5pm, and he seemed ok with this and ushered me in through the corridors back stage to their dressing room. I get the camera set up ready to video, and then it suddenly dawns on me that I don't recognise any of the band apart from "Barry", and then I see the band T-shirts. Oh sh*t. "Barry" isn't "Barry" at all, and I'm in the main support acts dressing room, about to do an interview, not having any questions prepared and actually not knowing a great deal about them, only for things to escalate as the singer from the main act comes in too. Surprisingly the interview went ok, and then I was rescued by the real "Barry" and did the proper interview as planned and on time. Real "Barry" that it was bloody hilarious but at the time I was sweating bullets.'

We're already six months into 2017, what have you got planned for the second half of the year?

'Well, I’ve worked myself into a career dead end, so non-photography wise I need to make a career change and that’s a huge challenge. In terms of photography, more of the same, but I’m also looking to do some more shots of doggies, and wildlife in general. Depending on if I have the time, I would quite like to have a little dabble in landscapes and architecture, but we’ll see how things go with dogs and deer etc first.'

And finally, if people want to see more of your work, or book a shoot with you, where can they find you?

'Well there’s this great site called Purpleport - http://purpleport.com/portfolio/jmhphotoBut outside of that I don’t tend to do social media too much, or if I do, it’s not really related to my photography! Maybe I should change that?'

Just one more thing (he says in his best Peter Falk)...what's your favourite joke?

' A burglar broke into a house one night. He shined his flashlight around, looking for valuables, and when he picked up a CD player to place in his pack, a strange, disembodied voice echoed from the dark saying, "Jesus is watching you."He nearly jumped out of his skin, clicked his flashlight out, and froze. When he heard nothing more after a bit, he shook his head, promised himself a vacation after the next big score, then clicked the light on and began searching for more valuables. Just as he pulled the stereo out so he could disconnect the wires, clear as a bell he heard,"Jesus is watching you." Freaked out, he shone his light around frantically, looking for the source of the voice. Finally, in the corner of the room, his flashlight beam came to rest on a parrot. "Did you say that?", he hissed at the parrot."Yep," the parrot confessed, then squawked, "I'm just trying to warn you."The burglar relaxed. "Warn me, huh? Who in the world are you?""Moses," replied the bird."Moses?" the burglar laughed. "What kind of people would name a bird Moses?""The kind of people that would name a Rottweiler Jesus." '

Once again, I'd like to thank James for taking the time to answer a few questions for me. Be sure to check out the links for more of his work, and the links attached to the images for the other creatives involved.

Wednesday, 21 June 2017

Welcome to 'Where When How Wednesday'. In these weekly posts I'll be interviewing creatives about their journey into the creative world, their works, and what makes them tick. This week I'm interviewing photographic model, Vivian Blue.

Hi Viv. Thank you for taking the time to answer a few questions for me. How was it you came to be a model?

'No problem Ian. I first starting modelling when I was 17, I was in various beauty competitions including miss England. I then started to get booked for photoshoots and went from their. I then modelled for two years before stopping. I started again in January 2015 and have been modelling since'

Speaking of shoots, have you found yourself in any funny situations whilst on a shoot?

'Whilst on a location shoot in an abandoned factory we were approached by a security guard. He approached me from behind and asked what we were doing. I jumped out my skin and screamed! I was so embarrassed but he was actually really nice'

'Decide what level your comfortable working to before you start and stick to that. Don't let anyone influence what levels you should be working up to. Its completely up to the model. Also good advice for any situation really, if it sounds too good to be true it probably is.'

I'd like to thank Vivian again for taking the time to answer a few questions for me, be sure to check out all the links above for more of her work, as well as the links attached to the images for the other creatives involved in creating them.

Wednesday, 14 June 2017

Welcome to 'Where When How Wednesday'. In these weekly posts I'll be interviewing creatives about their journey into the creative world, their works, and what makes them tick. This week I'm interviewing photographic model, Sophie Wighton.

Most things, especially online, tend to fall into specific genres and/or gets described as being a specific style. The trouble with this is it's quite subjective, the style someone views something to be can often differ to the style the person creating it views it as. How would you describe the work you are putting out there?

'The majority of my modelling is very alternative. I have a lot of piercings and dress in Gothic clothing on a daily basis so this is reflected in my modelling. My appearance is an expression of my creativity, as is my modelling. It also gives me an opportunity to showcase my skills as a makeup artist.'

Photography, modelling and their related skills, as with most things, can have their share of problems. I personally have a particular problem with self confidence. This confidence issue can and has caused me issues with my photography. Do you find any aspects of modelling particularly challenging?

'I’ve found body confidence issues have limited me at times. Up until very recently I’ve only worked up to fashion levels, partly due to poor body image. I’m experimenting with pushing my levels now and have actually found that doing so has helped me to accept my body more.'

When we've chatted in the past we've talked about the fact that you have Cerebral Palsy. As the carer for a disabled wife we've had to find workarounds for things people take for granted, have you found your disability has made any aspects of modelling particularly difficult, or impossible, and have you come up with workarounds for it?

'I try not to let my disability limit me too much but there are some poses that are just impossible due to my poor balance and tight muscles. I also have to take my right hand into consideration when posing as I can’t open it so prefer to keep it out of images where possible. On the whole, I try not to let it limit me too much and strive to find alternative ways of doing things. I take this approach to everything in life, not just modelling.'

This question is sort of a two-parter... Do you find the fact you're disabled affects people's perceptions of you and your ability as a model before you shoot? And after you've shot with them do you find that their views have changed?

'I’ve been very lucky in that all the photographers I’ve worked with so far have been very patient and understanding when it comes to my disability. I suppose that because I make it very clear on my PurplePort profile that I have a disability, the people who are put off by it don’t contact me in the first place.As for their perceptions changing, I think some photographers admire how little I complain and how much I push myself to get the shot. I put my all into every shoot, no matter how cold or uncomfortable I am!'

In my series 'Foto Inspiration Friday' I share the people, images, places etc that I find give me inspiration. Who, or what, or where do you draw inspiration from?

'I’m asked this on a regular basis and it’s a difficult question to answer! I’m an artistic person and I find ideas just pop into my head. They can be inspired by music, a piece of artwork, a makeup look, a specific colour or an item of clothing. It’s difficult to pinpoint specific sources of inspiration.'

Sometimes images hold a special significance to us. It can be the first image we ever made, it can be an image drawing attention to a cause close to our hearts, it can simply be an image of someone we love. Do you have an image or images that hold a special significance to you?

'I have a picture of myself and my favourite musician, Wednesday 13, from when I met him after a gig in 2014. My eyes are closed but I don’t care because I got to meet the person who created music that got me though some of the toughest times in my life, and he signed my favourite CD box set. My only regret is that I didn’t show him my 13 tattoo!'

Photoshoots can sometimes leave you open to scary or funny situations. What's the scariest or funniest situation you've found yourself in on a shoot?

'I don’t think there have been any genuinely scary moments during my shoots, but I try to make them all fun. I love scrolling through the images and finding the ridiculous faces I pull. The funniest outtakes have probably been captured by Steve Morris when I accidentally put my hand in bird poo, and a similar face when KaosAdy poked me on the nose during a shoot with Stephotofocus. All my best outtakes make their way onto Facebook, I don’t like to take myself too seriously.'

We've talked about your start, we've talked about your current work, let's quickly chat about the future. What have you got coming up this year, more of the same? Any special projects? Plus in regards to a more long term plan, where are you hoping your creative journey will take you in the years to come?

'I plan to work with more of my favourite brands. I’m already the brand model for CyberloxShop UK and have modelled for Phazeclothing.com and Jem Corsets, I would love to continue working with more brands and designers. I would also like to get published, perhaps in a Gothic or alternative magazine.'

I'd like to thank Sophie again for taking the time to answer a few questions for me, be sure to check out all the links above for more of her work, as well as the links attached to the images for the other creatives involved in creating them.

Wednesday, 7 June 2017

Welcome to 'Where When How Wednesday'. In these weekly posts I'll be interviewing creatives about their journey into the creative world, their works, and what makes them tick. This week I'm interviewing Cheshire based photographer, Ian AKA io Cassiopeia.

Firstly, thanks for taking the time to answer some questions for me. We should probably start at the beginning...when and how did you come about getting into the world of photography?

'Photography became a passion of mine as early back as my school days. The earliest memory being a trip to York with the school photography club when I was around 14. A school friend of mine built a darkroom in his loft that summer, we spent quite some time up there developing various shots, but I remember that side of things not really interesting me too much. I kind of left photography alone for quite a while, but then when digital cameras started becoming consumer products at the end of the 90’s suddenly my passion was reignited. I’ve always been into technology and gadgets so this new way of shooting and editing images digitally was the whole thing that got me back into it in a big way, my first proper digital camera was the 2 megapixel Kodak DX3500.'

Photography, especially online, tends to fall into specific genres and/or gets described as being a specific style. The trouble with this is it's quite subjective, the style someone views an image to be can often differ to the style the person creating it views it as. How would you describe the work you are putting out there?

'Well my style has kind of evolved from my career as a wedding photographer. When I shot weddings I always tried to shoot "documentary" style, kind of like one of the guests, just blending in on the day. Most people these days when they book a wedding photographer want what they class as "natural" and "unobtrusive" images.'My style now I'm shooting models follows on from this so I tend to shoot very voyeuristic style images, that use natural environments and always natural light. I like to use the environment around me to add story, depth and meaning to an image. I like to tease the viewer with my images, I'm a big fan of artistic erotica, but leaving just a tiny bit to the imagination or leaving the viewer wanting more.'

'My official final wedding was last October. It took me nearly two years from deciding to finish to actually leave the industry as I was booked 2 years in advance, so that’s one hell of a notice period. I didn’t tell the last couple that they were my final ever wedding and it turned out to be quite an emotional day for me. I was happy and relieved but very sad at the same time. The drive home was really emotional. What was nice is that my final wedding was a really great one, so I bowed out on a high note.'

What brought about the decision to leave? Was it just a natural progression? The work load? The mothers of the brides?

'My decision to leave wedding photography was quite a complicated mix of things. Broadly speaking I was missing far too many summers with the family, the job had become more about marketing, website maintenance, admin, accounting etc etc rather than actual photography.I was fast falling out of love with photography, and the odd nightmare wedding with a bridezilla can really get you down. Since leaving wedding work my passion has come back and I’m just enjoying doing it for fun now. I made the right decision. I feel sorry for traditional high end wedding photographers these days as the trend is fast going towards instagram style weddings, young people don't really want traditional high end photos any more, and there's so many new 'photographers' appearing offering dirt cheap packages as well. I shot mainly high end stuff and the battle with others was getting fiercer and fiercer as the customer base just kept decreasing.'

Photography can have it's share of problems. I personally have a particular problem with self confidence. This confidence issue can and has caused me issues with my photography. Do you find any aspects of photography particularly challenging?

'Every shoot I do I like to find challenging, that’s what gives me the buzz and the desire to do it. I like to shoot in very challenging lighting conditions so quite often I’ll work with a model in an environment I’m seeing for the very first time right before we shoot. I also don’t like to plan too much in advance as to what we’re going to do. I love the challenge of having to make do with everything that’s thrown at me and just make it work, there and then. Again, this probably stems from my days as a wedding photographer where every wedding was always different and normally a huge challenge.'

I generally work the other way, although, truth be told, some of my most successful images were unplanned... The planning that you do, is it purely a case of knowing the model and location, or is there a little more to it?

'Planning wise, I generally just have a model and a location and make it up as I go along. I normally specify to a model that as long as I’ve got a fairly decent sized room with a good bit of ‘controllable’ window light then we’re good to go.Most work I do is TF so I generally let the model decide the styling etc.If we’re outdoors I’ll normally just make it up as I go along too, just try to find areas I can make the light directional and 'wing it' as they say. I enjoy this approach as it’s challenging and more fun. Doesn’t always work, but there’s always a great photo no matter where you are. It’s all about making the best with what you’ve got.'

In my series 'Foto Inspiration Friday' I share the people, images, places etc that I find give me inspiration. Who, or what, or where do you draw inspiration from?

'I guess my inspiration originally for becoming a wedding photographer was the work of Cliff Mautner. Cliff is an American wedding photographer, probably regarded as one of the best in the world and I just love the way he uses natural light. He’s a fantastic teacher as well and much of my early wedding career and thus subsequent photography really draws from the huge influence he had on me. I’m also a huge fan of Damien Lovegrove, his images are always beautiful and he’s an absolute master of light, and again a fantastic teacher.'

Sometimes images hold a special significance to us. It can be the first image we ever made, it can be an image drawing attention to a cause close to our hearts, it can simply be an image of someone we love. Do you have an image or images that hold a special significance to you?

'I guess the image that always sticks in my mind is one I took of my daughter when I had just bought my first set of professional camera equipment. It was literally the first photo I took on a full frame camera and it was just an amazing photo that I caught completely by accident as I didn’t really know how to use the camera. I still look at that photo regularly and smile.'

Photoshoots can sometimes leave you open to scary or funny situations. What's the scariest or funniest situation you've found yourself in because of photography?

'Well I shoot a lot of outdoor nudity, and on a few occasions we’ve been caught by passers by or inquisitive kids. I think the one that sticks in mind though was shooting a nude model in an abandoned boathouse and a gamekeeper appeared out of the blue with a double barrel shotgun. That was quite scary for a few seconds. He turned out to be a really cool guy in the end though and we had a good laugh about it (whilst being escorted off the land ha ha)'

Escorted you off the land...so he didn't let you finish then?

'He actually turned up just as we were wrapping up, so we were just about done. We had the feeling he may have even been watching from a distance but who knows. He was quite firm at first but once he knew we were a good laugh he had a chuckle with us. He said if the old lady who owned the land had seen us she’d probably have had a heart attack!He escorted us back to the car AND watched us drive off. I never went back ha ha.'

We've talked about your start in photography, we talked about your current work, let's quickly chat about the future. What have you got coming up this year? More of the same? Any special projects? Plus in regards to a more long term plan, where are you hoping your creative journey will take you in the years to come?

'For the future I’m looking to try my hand in a bit of video work, maybe some dark moody erotic style videos. Other than that, just more of the same and continue to develop my style and editing even further.'

We can't really talk photography without discussing gear, so...what is your 'go to' equipment that you find yourself gravitating towards the most on shoots?

'I keep things really simple these days. I use a mirrorless Fuji X-T20 with a 56mm f1.2 lens and that’s it. I would say that around 95% of my portfolio has been shot with this setup. I don’t believe in studio lights, speedlights, reflectors etc etc, I think all you need is a great lens, great model and some beautiful natural light and everything is perfect, the rest is down to you.'

Have you ever done the studio light/speedlight thing of have you been all natural all along?

'I’ve done and tried everything!I had my own studio for a while, didn’t work for me, I just found the results boring and meaningless. I tried the Lovegrove method with off camera flashes, expensive video lights, you name it. I always came back to my wedding style. I only used flash when there was no choice at weddings, all of my best shots were natural light. I don’t really know how it evolved to be fair, but my speedlights haven’t been used for years now. I don’t even use reflectors.Everyone that know me or has shot with me will vouch that all I use is a tiny mirrorless Fuji camera and an awesome wide aperture lens and that’s it! I love the simplicity, models are always surprised when they see how small my kit is.'

Once again, I'd like to thank Ian for taking the time to answer a few questions for me. Be sure to check out the links for more of his work, and the links attached to the images for the other creatives involved.